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Friday, May 24, 2013

Itsy bitsy spider, beat it

I have absolutely nothing against itsy bitsy spider and its friends and relatives. Spiders neither repel me nor do they elicit high-pitched shrieks when I come across them (well, if a large one landed on my face in the middle of the night, things might be different). Figuring they will eat pests such as mosquitoes, I tolerate them even in the house, as evidenced by the presence of spider webs in the kitchen and elsewhere.

One of my succulent tables

However, I positively hate it when they spin their sticky web in the middle of and across my plants. OK, on day 1 it might look cool, but on day 2 or 3 the web is full of tiny insects, and soon the scene looks like a miniature version of Sleeping Beauty’s castle after 100 years. Take a look at the photos in this post and you’ll see what I mean.

Agave ‘Snow Glow’

Dyckia fosteriana hybrid

Dyckia ‘Burgundy Ice’

Agave ‘Monterrey Frost’

Agave mitis

Agave chrysoglossa

Mangave ‘Bloodspot’

Echinopsis huascha

Aloe striata seeds

Tephrocactus articulatus

Agave ‘Cornelius’

Agave ‘Cornelius’

I honestly don’t know if anything can be done to remedy the situation. I don’t want to kill the spiders so I won’t use noxious chemicals. Is there a spider version of a sonar device that might shoo them off? Or is this simply a fact of life I need to put up with?

Even the furniture isn’t safe

It seems that in the last few years the spider population around our house has exploded. I don’t remember ever seeing as many spiders—or spider webs—as I have since 2010. I wouldn’t care so much if I didn’t collect succulents, but spider webs on agaves or cacti really are an ugly sight.

I finally managed to photograph two of the culprits (on Agave ‘Snow Glow’)

12 comments:

A few of those pictures look like spider mite webs, Gerhard. You might want to check out google images "spider mite webs". They are one of the worst pests I have to deal with on the plants at the school's nursery. Sue

I allow spiders free reign here, but I am pretty unfriendly when they deface my plants..I use a small shop vac, or a wisk broom and a webster. I figure the spiders have good odds here since I am no-spray and not phobic.80 percent of them survive, including those that live in the house.

Update: I removed some of the densest webs with a small sticks and spiders come scurrying out. Then I hosed down the plants with a strong spray of water. Will do Neem oil next.

I'm still not convinced I have mites but I can't exclude it. The critters I saw were definitely spiders, moving fast. Some as small as 1/8 - 1/4 inch. From what I read spiter mites are significantly smaller.